


Kindred Spirits

by Ravenstag



Category: Versailles (TV 2015)
Genre: Eventual relationship, M/M, Power Play, William gets on his knees, William winds Louis up in the best way he can
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 11:43:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11462883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenstag/pseuds/Ravenstag
Summary: From war to something else, Louis XIV and William of Orange find something they never expected to in each other.A way to end their solitude.





	Kindred Spirits

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first attempt at something like this! The first chapter is to set the scene and I want to try and switch between their viewpoints.
> 
> Always love comments. <3
> 
> I've rated this as mature as there will be explicit scenes eventually!

Whenever he looked at Louis, William was often reminded of a masquerade. The gaudy trappings, the sheer amount of gold upon the other man, but also the elegant beauty of the mask that the sun king wore. 

Upon the battlefield, his eyes laid upon the man sprawled in the mud, the horse collapsed nearby him, and he'd seen what lay beneath the mask. The vulnerability. The loneliness and distrust in the other man's eyes that mirrored his own. Whilst men and women of noble birth had been taken in by the beauty of Versailles, William found himself taken in by the man, the golden heart that beat beneath it. The almost fever crazed mind that dreamed it up. 

At that moment, the smile he wore had been less about triumph. Here, upon this battlefield, faced with his fallen, mud covered foe, the Dutch Stadtholder had found a kindred spirit in the sun king. 

It was the humanity, the realisation that the man he had wanted to meet since his younger years was a mere mortal like him, that finally ensnared William's attention. Unwittingly, the Dutch man was allowing one previously well-enforced inner wall to crumble. However, he was well aware of the need to keep face. A strained smile graced thin lips as he looked down at Louis and stepped closer. The words that followed next merely forced, to keep the distance between them. "The battle is mine today, France. Soon enough, it shall be the war. However, today, I shall give you a taste of what you so rarely give others. Clemency."

He'd seen fever in the man's eyes, concerned he hadn't slept. Instinctively, a hand reached out as he tried to help Louis to his feet, recoiling as if stung when the hand was slapped away with some considerable force. The green of the sun king's eyes like a pale jade, resting sharply upon him. 

It cut deeper than he'd allow himself to acknowledge. That ever present obstacle between them, pride, forced him to turn and leave with his men, quietly speaking with another. He allowed the French King's men to pick up the pieces of the sun king. Inside, that mean spirit twisted within, warming him with a sick sense of satisfaction that Louis would be forced to find somewhere for the night, and be reminded of him until they arrived with the discomfort the mud would no doubt cause. That would fall into his plan, after all, the sun king was a better ally than an enemy. He mounted his horse and the Dutch rode away, following their leader. 

Leaving Louis to his thoughts.


End file.
